LAURA'S LOVE LIFE ADVICE: Should You Avoid Seeing Your Ex & His New Love As Long As Possible, Like Demi Is Doing?

Demi Lovato is just out of rehab: should she steer clear of seeing ex Joe Jonas and his new GF Ashley Greene in case they set her off again?

Seeing your ex-boyfriend after a crushing breakup is hard to do under normal circumstances, so you can well imagine how it feels to walk in Demi Lovato‘s shoes at the moment. Not only is the Disney starlet just out of rehab, but she may be forced to deal with seeing her ex, Joe Jonas, and his new girlfriend, Breaking Dawn star Ashley Greene,almost immediately now that she’s back in LA. Should she prolong this inevitable encounter as long as possible?

Although the 18-year-old actresses’ situation isever so slightlydifferent from the norm, my advice is the same for both of you: avoid, avoid, avoid!

Don’t think this makes you seem cowardly. If you’ve recently split and he did the dumping, it’s only natural that you’re going to be holding a torch for your former love while he’s easily moving on. That said, he’s in a much better place that you are emotionally. You certainly don’t want to see him until you’re a) over him b) looking your best c) feeling your best. Basically, you don’t want seeing him with the girl who took your place sending your into spasms of depression or a downward spiral.

Demi especially needs to be careful. After spending three months in a Chicago outpatient facility for seeking “medical treatment for emotional and physical issues she has dealt with for some time” (as per her rep), the slightest provocation could send her back to the dark place she was before. Demi needs to get any notions of a grown-up and civil meeting out of her head, and just run like hell if she sees Jashley coming her way.

Trust me here: you don’t need to be the bigger person in this kind of situation. Self-preservation is way more important after a breakup than acting like an adult. Besides, he didn’t do you any favors by taking up with a new girl immediately following the demise of your relationship, so why should you afford him the same courtesy by making his life all tidy and neat? Right, you don’t. So look out for #1 (that’s YOU, by the way) and if you need to avoid him to feel better, just do it.